Sunday, April 27, 2008

The Last Gig

Last April 20, we visited Avilon Animal Prison, or more commonly known as Avilon Zoo. As a tribute to my semi-retired camera, I posted some of the pictures taken that day here. By the way, the full set is available on my flickr page... :)



Arapaima Gigas Feeding on Chicken Heads


Sleeping Siberian Tiger


Trixie on a Bicycle with Balancers


Flamingo


Eat Like a Jasmine Bird


Pink Flower


Budgerigars


Sun Conure


A Jas' Duck's Quack


Flock of Jas Ducks


Philippine Government Official Crocodile


Ostreeeeech!!!

Semi-Retirement

After two and a half years and more than 12,000 shots, I'm now putting my Canon PowerShot S2 IS into semi-retirement. Which means, I would no longer be bringing her along on my travels. Instead, she'll be staying at home, resting, and doing lighter tasks.



I'm not planning to sell her or give her away, because she's my 1st camera, and she's been a significant part of my life. She went as far as I could go, never complained, and gave her best, all the time. :)

I got her on September 24, 2005, a day after my return from my 1st business trip in Cebu. It was Marben who bought her from Japan, and left her with Jas on Friday (September 23). 

Coincidentally, Jas was celebrating her birthday that day. I gave her the special birthday scrapbook and box of origami's which we've made back in Cebu, in exchange for watching over my camera... :P

Since then, we've travelled to far places together, attended company outings, crashed high school reunions, enjoyed family outings, celebrated birthday parties, and many many more.

I really couldn't imagine my life in the past 2 years without her... :P

アスカちゃん。。。お疲れ様でした。

Saturday, April 26, 2008

When Love Begins...

I had a really hard time uploading this image. It seems that Blogger had some technical problems. Here's the result of my poor and senseless creativity... :P

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Cagayan de Oro Weekend (Day 3)

My 3rd and final installment of my CDO series. My flight was 7:40 in the morning so there was really nothing much to do.

Panic Mode

Reggie met me at the hotel around 5:30AM, we were supposed to leave for the airport, but the university service did not arrive as planned.

After minutes of wait, we started panicking because we have no idea where Mang Teddy is, and we have no way of contacting him except through Mam Christine. Although reluctant at first, we still contacted her, and she instructed Reggie to call the university.

Due to the delay, I was able to buy some pasalubong (4 boxes of Pastel) from the store just across the street.

Reggie learned from the university personnel that Mang Teddy was seen earlier but his current whereabouts is unknown.

Mang Teddy eventually came to bring us to the airport. We got to the airport in under 15 minutes with plenty of time for check-in. I bade farewell to Reggie and thanked him for his generous company during my short stay.

Boarding Time

While waiting for boarding, I also bought some souvenir shirts. One for me and another for my dad. Although they're more expensive, the quality and designs are not bad.

After I got the shirts, I noticed two guys taking turns in taking pictures with this woman. She was wearing shades so I thought she must be a TV personality of some sort. I wasn't sure if she was Bangs Garcia until I overheard a saleslady mentioning her name.

I'm not sure if the whole picture taking episode was just a ploy to attract people's attention, because it turned out that the two guys were actually with her. Anyhow, I don't remember seeing anybody else asking for a photograph so I guess they're plot failed.

I was thinking of asking a picture with her just because I wanted to see Jasmine's reaction. >:) In the end, I never had the courage to do so. :P

For those who are curious on how she looked like... from behind... just click the image... this was taken during our arrival in Manila... he he... >:P


Final Words

My Cagayan de Oro experience may have been really short, but it was indeed a memorable one. Thanks to the people that I've met and became friends with. And most importantly, for the free WiFi access all over town. :))

I'm looking forward to my next visit to the City of Golden Friendship.

Monday, April 21, 2008

Cagayan de Oro Weekend (Day 2)

The 2nd part of my CDO series... it's taking me quite some time to publish anything significant these days, it must be the weather. :P

Anyhow, I told myself that I'm gonna finish this one today, especially that the PhilNITS FE results were already out. :S

April 6 was the PhilNITS examination day. I had to be on the testing site before 7AM so I got up around 5AM, took a quick shower and had the free breakfast. Mam Christine met me at the hotel, then we proceeded to Capitol University. Taxi ride from Hotel Conchita to CU took less than 10 minutes.

When we arrived at CU, Reggie was already there. Some of the examinees were also early.

On the Exams

We started the examination at 9AM then everything else went smoothly, except for some occasional text messages from the PhilNITS counterpart in Manila, which contains the corrections for some test items.

After the AM part, we had our lunch break at the faculty room. I had grilled milk fish for lunch. Then, I rested for a few minutes in the dean's office before going back to the exam room.

For the PM part, it was pretty much the same as the AM part. As stated in the Proctor's Guidelines, we had to stay in the exam room at all times, record any unusual events that happens, record the attendance, arrange the answer sheets in a prescribed order, seal and sign the envelopes that will contain the answer sheets, any many more.

After the last examinee submitted his answer sheet, we started packing all the exam stuffs, cleaned the area, and called it a day.

Time to Relax

We decided to go to LimKetKai to relax and also to have dinner somewhere in Rosario Arcade. But before that, I had to return to the hotel to leave the big heavy box. Mam Christine, on the other hand, had to meet someone, so we just decided to meet up her sometime before dinner.

While waiting for Mam Christine, Reggie and I, hit the arcade and played some racing and shooting games. After that, we got some snacks from a nearby hotdog stand. A few minutes more, Mam Christine arrived. Then we proceeded to Rosario Arcade.

Rosario Arcade is somewhat equivalent to Greenbelt in Makati. This is where the most popular coffee shops, restaurants and bars are located. Bigby's, Sun Burst, Bo's Coffee, Taza Coffee, and Cafe Macumba, to name a few.

We ordered some drinks from Taza Coffee, shared a couple of nice stories, and went around to take some nice pictures. A few minutes more, Merbert came. He's a professor in STI, he was the thesis adviser and a good friend of Reggie. He's also a good friend of Mam Christine. By the way, Reggie and Merbert, are both younger than me, although they both agree that it's not obvious. :)

Dinner Time

After a while, we decided to order some dinner, Mam Christine and Reggie went for the buffet in East Wok, while Merbert and I settled for Cafe Macumba. I ordered fish and fries for dinner. After eating, we stayed for at least an hour more to listen to the old guy singing some nice classics. He was really good. :)

This is also the time that I discovered somebody who can recite the garbled lyrics of "Ken Lee" perfectly. It was Merbert. :P

Divisoria

The first time I heard the name, I immediately thought of the market place in Tondo. I was wrong. It turned out to be a very nice long plaza in the middle of the street populated with colorful lamp posts similar to the ones you can find in Roxas Boulevard.

During Fridays and Saturdays, they have live band performances in the evening. There's also a big screen in the middle, where people can watch TV shows, movies, and events like Pacquiao's boxing match. You can also find several blind masseurs offering their services to visitors in the plaza.

At the far end of the plaza, you'll find another popular place called "The Park Cafe". According to Mam Christine, it's similar to the park in-between Glorietta and 6750.

We stayed there for another hour or so. Talked some more, drank some more, and ate some more. Until we finally felt tired and sleepy.

They accompanied me to the hotel, said our good byes and parted ways. It was a tiring but interesting day indeed. :)


To be continued...

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Recent Acquisitions

After more than a month of anticipation, it's finally here... :)

I bought this from YesAsia last March 13, but the notice from the Makati Post Office only came last week, even though the package was already there since April 2. :|

And because the package stayed there for a while, I had to pay a storage fee of P35.00. I guess this is their way of generating "extra" revenues. :P

When I went there to pick up the package, the customs guy opened it and asked me how much did I pay for it. I told him around P1500. Probably, after realizing that he won't get that much money from it, he did not bother to charge me any additional fees. >:P

It's the latest album of BoA. I recently stopped getting the singles and just opted to wait for the album because most of the songs in her singles will also appear in her album. That's another addition to my collection. :) :) :)

Despair Stuffs

Speaking of delayed packages, Jasmine purchased some items from Despair, Inc. last December. And for some unknown reason, the 1st time the item was shipped, it was lost, or probably stolen by some custom official. After weeks of e-mail correspondence with Despair, they willingly re-shipped the items. It reached the post office last February 26, and the notice came mid of March. Jasmine almost gave up on it. :P

Here's the custom calendar from Despair. You can choose your preferred Demotivator for every month. You can even add custom holidays or special events.



The 2nd item is an ego t-shirt, for people with superiority complex. Although I don't consider myself being one, wearing something like this still looks pretty cool... and provocative... >:)



Finally, a must-read book for executives and a must-not-read book for employees, according to it's author... The Art of Demotivation. I'm reading this out of pure interest and not because I'm aspiring to be an executive. O:)



It's a pretty interesting and unorthodox book with a nifty camouflage cover, supposedly boring, so that regular employees would not be interested in discovering what's in it.



At first, I thought that it was a misprint, but the author explained it in the preface section of the book.







====================

P.S. Happy Birthday to President Erap... Wishing you more success in your political career. >:)

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Cagayan de Oro Weekend (Day 1)

A fairly late post but here goes...

I had a pretty interesting weekend last April 5 to 7. I went to Cagayan de Oro to administer the PhilNITS examination for that region. It was Sir Melvin who recommended me to take the job. Thank you sir! ^_^

I was originally assigned to go to Zamboanga but due to safety concerns, I was reassigned to CDO. Either ways, both places are unknown to me. I just happen to like visiting new places. :)

The day before my flight, I went to the PhilNITS office to pickup a heavy box which contains the exam materials. Since I don't have a car, and I can't take the train (because of the LRT/MRT insecurity protocols), and no taxi driver is willing to go to Tondo, I just asked the taxi driver to drop me off at Buendia/Taft, so I could take the Moriones bound FX. :|

===================

It was a smooth and fast plane ride to CDO. In flight, I took some pictures, played Brain Age 2, ate some snacks, and took naps in between.

At CDO, I was welcomed by Mam Christine and Reggie. After exchanging greetings, we headed for Hotel Conchita in Cogon.

I left the heavy box at the Hotel then we went to Bigby's in Rosario Arcade for lunch. I had a half Rack-A-Bye Baby and a Monkey Business Freeze. Reggie took the remaining half. I used to share this meal with Dennis, during our Cebu days. It's really nice to dine in Bigby's again. ^_^

While eating, I had the chance to know more about my new friends. Mam Christine was a professor in PLM a few years back before she joined STI-CDO, then transferred to Capitol University. She's the current dean of the College of Computer Studies in CU.

Reggie, on the other hand, graduate from STI-CDO last year (I think), and currently handles several computer subjects in different colleges in Capitol University. He's a smoking buddy, drinking buddy, bar hopping buddy, food trip buddy and a good friend of Mam Christine. He's originally from Sta. Mesa, QC until he moved to CDO 4 years ago. He hasn't return to Manila since then.

===================

After our nice meal, we proceeded to Capitol University. It was part of the protocol that I examine the room one day before the exam. We also took some time discussing some issues about the exam in the dean's office.

Before I returned to the hotel, I asked Mam Christine if I could go around and check the campus. She generously agreed and even requested Reggie to show me around. We spent around half an hour going from one building to another. CU is a really nice campus. Their president, Casimiro Juarez is doing a really good job.

===================

After covering the significant locations in the campus, we left CU, took a motorela and went to LimKetKai Center. LimKetKai is the most popular mall in CDO, and is probably comparable to Glorietta. Personally, I think LimKetKai is bigger and better.

After LimKetKai, we went back to the hotel. I wanted to go to Sun Burst for dinner but because I became a little lazy, I opted to stay in the hotel and get some rest. >:)

====================

My hotel room is nice but it was pretty boring and lonely, specially without a computer. The view from the window is not that nice too. Good thing there's an unsecured wifi access point visible in my room. It felt really good to be online, even if it's just through my PDA. :))

I decided to order some hotel food for dinner. While waiting for the food, I chatted with Jas over YM, and played with my DS Lite. After a few minutes, dinner was finally served. :)

Shrimp and Broccoli in Oyster Sauce... These are the times when you can be thankful that you're alone in your room. >:P

After dinner, I spent a few minutes playing with Brain Age until I finally hit the hay.

To be continued...

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Men Have Bones Too

My youngest sister and I went to the grocery store last Sunday to buy some baking/cooking supplies and some other stuffs. When we passed by the milk section, she realized that she wanted to buy some powdered milk. She was concerned about the fact that two of our sisters are diagnosed with scoliosis.

While searching for a good brand, I noticed that most of them, if not all, are packaged and designed in such a way that it's intended customers are all women. Even the TV commercials are geared towards women, older ones to be exact.

As if men don't have bones to care about. Or maybe, it's just easier to sell "look good" and "feel good" stuffs to women than men... >:)

Peace to all women... O:)

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Thou Shall Not Steal

Extended Earth Hour

After 4 days, they've finally restored the electricity in our block. Hopefully, for good.

It has been like a super-extended Earth Hour in our block. This power outage have caused a lot of inconveniences at home. My youngest sister, who's on vacation from school, spends the whole day answering Sodoku or Crossword puzzles. And she didn't shampooed her hair for several days. :S

Without electricity to run our water pump, we were not able to use our showers and faucets upstairs. We had to optimize our water usage since it's quite tedious to carry pails of waters. In my case, I've managed to acquire a new ability, "Maligo sa Pitong Tabo" (Bath in 7 Buckets).  :P

Like me, my other two sisters, who are both working, were lucky enough because we didn't suffer during morning. But after we get home, we still had to bear with the darkness, heat, mosquito bites, and boredom for the next 10 or 12 hours. :(

As for our store, we used kerosene powered gasera's (gas lamp) to provide adequate lighting. Just like old times. :)

The Replacement

It all started last week, when the Meralco guys began replacing the old wooden posts with concrete ones as part of their upgrade activities. They also replaced the old transformer with a new one, but with a lower capacity. We're not really sure of the basis of lowered capacity value, but it's probably based on the daily consumption as reflected on the electric bills in our vicinity, and some allowance.

They blacked out half of our block last Sunday at 9AM and began installing the new device, and rewired some of the cables. The power was restored around 6:30PM that day, but it didn't last that long. A little past 8PM, the new transformer blew up (figuratively), then there was darkness.

The following day, the Meralco guys returned to fix it. But just like the previous day, it blew up again around 8:30PM. They returned the following day to fix it for the nth time. But this time the transformer is already broken, possibly permanently. The Meralco guys said that they would have to replace it with a new one.

The Jumpers

So, why did the new transformer kept on blowing up? There's no one to blame but those stupid "jumpers". I'm not talking about the guys from the Jumper Movie. These people have abilities as well, they can climb on posts and work on live electrical wires with minimal protection without getting electrocuted. Basically, they steal electricity by tapping to some active power line near their homes.

Before the Meralco guys replaced the old transformer, we would normally see some sparks and at times, even small flames on the cables. Our house is just next to the Meralco post, so if some explosion or fire occurs, we're going to be the first victim.

When the new transformer was installed, it repeatedly broke down since the power consumption of those "jumpers" were never considered in the first place. And the moment they turn on their appliances, down goes the transformer, and so is the electricity for half of the block.

The Meralco guys have probably known this for a long time but the thing is, they really can't do anything about it, and we can't blame them. When they tried inspecting the houses of some our neighbors, they were threatened to be killed or something to that effect.

Most of our neighbors even know who are these "jumpers" but they won't cooperate with the Meralco guys. Either they're afraid, or they're just doing the same illegal thing.

The Fix

"Jumpers" are very common in our vicinity, and the guys from Meralco have devised several methods to protect their services and electrical supply. One of which is to transfer the electric meter/s from each house to electric post. This way, if someone taps into an electric cable, he would be tapping from his neighbor's supply.

This way, Meralco will not be affected by the stolen electricity. The problem is left to the owners to resolve, and to make sure that nobody will be tapping into his cable. Unfortunately, most of our neighbors do not agree to this arrangement. Probably because, they knew that one of our neighbors will surely steal from them. Plus the fact that, the farther your house is, from the electric post, the greater chances of someone tapping into your cable without you knowing it.

Anyhow, it's a deadlock. I think the Meralco guys gave up and just increased the capacity of the transformer to accommodate the loses due to "jumpers". They've probably realized that their lives worth more than stolen electricity.

House of the Syndicate

By the way, the building owned by a big crime syndicate in our vicinity is powered by "jumper technology". Imagine 5 floors of "free" electricity. And the policeman living next to them can't even do anything about it or the illegal things they're doing.

One morning, the Meralco guys removed their tapped connection, the afternoon of that same day, they bought electrical tape from us, and by night time, they already have electricity again.